26 | WORLD NUMBERS | Amnesty says the Chibok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria Nigeria, world mark schoolgirl kidnappings New York’s Empire State Building lit up in red and purple in honour of the 219 schoolgirls as UN chief pledges solidarity BY OLA AWONIYI KANO, Tuesday schoolgirls with protest marches, candlelit vigils and pledges of solidarity. In New York the Empire State Building was lit up in red and purple in honour of the missing girls. It was to remain illuminated until 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Washington called for “all hostages N held by Boko Haram, including these girls, to be released immediately without preconditions,” State Department acting spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Amnesty International said the Chi- bok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria since the start of last year that had seen at least 2,000 women taken by the militants. Testimony from women and girls who escaped the militants said they were subject to forced labour and marriage, as well as rape. The UN and African rights groups also urged an end to Boko Haram’s TO COMMENT ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES GO TO www.nation.co.ke igeria and the world marked the first anniversary of Boko Haram’s abduction of 219 targeting of boys and girls, which has left at least 15,000 dead and some 1.5 million people homeless, 800,000 of them children. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led international pledges of solidarity with the girls and their families, who described coming to terms with the abduction as like a bereavement. Chibok elder Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the captives, said no events were planned in the town, as it was still in “perpetual fear” of Boko Haram, despite the presence of troops. “The last year has been a period of sadness, emotional torment and hardship. It has been a year of mourning. We are a bereaved community that has lost 219 daughters,” he told AFP. Buhari was now their hope of find- ing the girls, dead or alive, he said, pointing to the former army general and military ruler’s success in putting down an Islamist rebellion in 1984. Chibok campaigner Ayuba Alam- son-Chibok said immediate support, including from abroad, could be given to the remote community in Borno state, which lacks drinking water and medical facilities. “Those people (living in the town) really, really need help,” he added. The mass abduction brought the brutality of the Islamist insurgency to worldwide attention and prompted a social media campaign, #BringBackOurGirls, demanding their immediate release. On Tuesday, supporters from New Zealand to the United States again posted online, using the hashtags #365DaysOn, #ChibokGirls and #NeverToBeForgotten. Boko Haram, whose name trans- lates roughly from the Hausa language as “Western education is sin”, has at- PHOTO | AFP One of the mothers of the abducted Chibok girls reacts to delay in rescuing her daughter yesterday during a gathering of parents to mark the one-year anniversary of the abduction of 219 schoolgirls. At left, New York’s Empire State Building is lit in red and purple in honour of the kidnapped girls. tacked numerous so-called “secular” schools, their teachers and students since 2009. Rebecca Ishau, one of the schoolgirl marchers in Abuja, said the government should make education safe for everyone in Nigeria “as a matter of priority”. (AFP) Uganda anger at ‘brain drain’ as court allows medics to leave KAMPALA, Wednesday 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL ORLD NUMBERS | Amnesty says the Chibok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria Niger LD NUMBERS | Amnesty says the Chibok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria Nigeria, world mark schoolgirl kidnappings New York’s Empire State Building lit up in red and purple in honour of the 219 schoolgirls as UN chief pledges solidarity BY OLA AWONIYI KANO, Tuesday schoolgirls with protest marches, candlelit vigils and pledges of soli- darity. In New York the Empire State Building was lit up in red and purple in honour of the missing girls. It was to remain illuminated until 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Washington called for “all hostages N held by Boko Haram, including these girls, to be released immedi- ately without preconditions,” State Department acting spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Amnesty International said the Chi- bok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria since the start of last year that had seen at least 2,000 women taken by the militants. Testimony from women and girls who escaped the militants said they were subject to forced labour and marriage, as well as rape. The UN and African rights groups also urged an end to Boko Haram’s TO COMMENT ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES GO TO www.nation.co.ke igeria and the world marked the first anniversary of Boko Haram’s abduction of 219 targeting of boys and girls, which has left at least 15,000 dead and some 1.5 million people homeless, 800,000 of them children. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led international pledges of solidarity with the girls and their families, who described coming to terms with the abduction as like a bereavement. Chibok elder Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the cap- tives, said no events were planned in the town, as it was still in “perpetual fear” of Boko Haram, despite the presence of troops. “The last year has been a period of sadness, emotional torment and hard- ship. It has been a year of mourning. We are a bereaved community that has lost 219 daughters,” he told AFP. Buhari was now their hope of find- ing the girls, dead or alive, he said, pointing to the former army general and military ruler’s success in putting down an Islamist rebellion in 1984. Chibok campaigner Ayuba Alam- son-Chibok said immediate support, including from abroad, could be given to the remote community in Borno state, which lacks drinking water and medical facilities. “Those people (living in the town) really, really need help,” he added. The mass abduction brought the brutality of the Islamist insurgency to worldwide attention and prompted a social media campaign, #BringBack- OurGirls, demanding their immediate release. On Tuesday, supporters from New Zealand to the United States again posted online, using the hash- tags #365DaysOn, #ChibokGirls and #NeverToBeForgotten. Boko Haram, whose name trans- lates roughly from the Hausa language as “Western education is sin”, has at- PHOTO | AFP One of the mothers of the abducted Chibok girls reacts to delay in rescuing her daughter yesterday during a gath- ering of parents to mark the one-year anniversary of the abduction of 219 schoolgirls. At left, New York’s Empire State Building is lit in red and purple in honour of the kidnapped girls. tacked numerous so-called “secular” schools, their teachers and students since 2009. Rebecca Ishau, one of the schoolgirl marchers in Abuja, said the govern- ment should make education safe for everyone in Nigeria “as a matter of priority”. (AFP) Uganda anger at ‘brain drain’ as court allows medics to leave KAMPALA, Wednesday country, country, itself plagued by a major 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL 26 | WORL ORLD NUMBERS | Amnesty says the Chibok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria Nigeria, world ma WORLD NUMBERS | Amnesty says the Chibok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria Nigeria, world mark schoolgirl kidnappings New York’s Empire State Building lit up in red and purple in honour of the 219 schoolgirls as UN chief pledges solidarity BY OLA AWONIYI KANO, Tuesday schoolgirls with protest marches, candlelit vigils and pledges of soli- darity. In New York the Empire State Building was lit up in red and purple in honour of the missing girls. It was to remain illuminated until 2:00 am (0600 GMT). Washington called for “all hostages N held by Boko Haram, including these girls, to be released immedi- ately without preconditions,” State Department acting spokeswoman Marie Harf said. Amnesty International said the Chi- bok girls’ kidnapping was one of 38 in northeast Nigeria since the start of last year that had seen at least 2,000 women taken by the militants. Testimony from women and girls who escaped the militants said they were subject to forced labour and marriage, as well as rape. The UN and African rights groups also urged an end to Boko Haram’s TO COMMENT ON THESE AND OTHER STORIES GO TO www.nation.co.ke igeria and the world marked the first anniversary of Boko Haram’s abduction of 219 targeting of boys and girls, which has left at least 15,000 dead and some 1.5 million people homeless, 800,000 of them children. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led international pledges of solidarity with the girls and their families, who described coming to terms with the abduction as like a bereavement. Chibok elder Enoch Mark, whose daughter and niece are among the cap- tives, said no events were planned in the town, as it was still in “perpetual fear” of Boko Haram, despite the presence of troops. “The last year has been a period of sadness, emotional torment and hard- ship. It has been a year of mourning. We are a bereaved community that has lost 219 daughters,” he told AFP. Buhari was now their hope of find- ing the girls, dead or alive, he said, pointing to the former army general and military ruler’s success in putting down an Islamist rebellion in 1984. Chibok campaigner Ayuba Alam- son-Chibok said immediate support, including from abroad, could be given to the remote community in Borno state, which lacks drinking water and medical facilities. “Those people (living in the town) really, really need help,” he added. The mass abduction brought the brutality of the Islamist insurgency to worldwide attention and prompted a social media campaign, #BringBack- OurGirls, demanding their immediate release. On Tuesday, supporters from New Zealand to the United States again posted online, using the hash- tags #365DaysOn, #ChibokGirls and #NeverToBeForgotten. Boko Haram, whose name trans- lates roughly from the Hausa language as “Western education is sin”, has at- PHOTO | AFP One of the mothers of the abducted Chibok girls reacts to delay in rescuing her daughter yesterday during a gath- ering of parents to mark the one-year anniversary of the abduction of 219 schoolgirls. At left, New York’s Empire State Building is lit in red and purple in honour of the kidnapped girls. tacked numerous so-called “secular” schools, their teachers and students since 2009. Rebecca Ishau, one of the schoolgirl marchers in Abuja, said the govern- ment should make education safe for everyone in Nigeria “as a matter of priority”. (AFP) Uganda anger at ‘brain drain’ as court allows medics to leave KAMPALA, Wednesday country, itself plagued by a major which which they said violated citizens’ right o healthcare. But Justice Elizabeth Musoke ismissed their application, ruling that while the prospect of losing the octors, nurses and specialists was grim”, it was up to the government to ecide. “It remains a political decision, which would ordinarily have nothing to do with courts,” Musoke said. IPPR director Justinian Kateera described the decision as “shocking” and “a travesty”. “It hurts citizens, it is a life and death issue,” he told AFP, adding activists would appeal, but that he feared the medics would leave for the Caribbean in the meantime. (AFP) DAILY NATION Thursday April 16, 2015 LOSS OF LIVES EU criticised as 400 migrants drown Page 30 BRIEFLY BUJUMBURA Two military cadets killed in Egypt blast Two Egyptian military cadets were killed in a bombing north of Cairo yesterday as they waited to board a bus, officials said. The blast struck in the Nile Valley city of Kafr al-Sheikh and wounded 10 other people, police officials said. Scores of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Most have taken place in the Sinai Peninsula, where the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Egypt is based. Other attacks have targeted policemen and soldiers in the capital and the Nile Delta. Kafr el-Sheikh governor Osama Hamdi Abdel Wahid told the private CBC Extra news station that he could confirm two cadets had been killed. (AFP) CONAKRY Guinean protesters honour uneasy truce Businesses remained closed in Guinea’s capital on Wednesday as police poured into the streets to maintain order after 48 hours of clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces. Conakry had been rocked by violence since the early hours of Monday, when hundreds of youths gathered on the main road into the city centre and hurled stones at police. The opposition said in a statement three people had been killed, including an unidentified young girl, while 50 had been wounded — at least 12 by gunfire — during the clashes. “This particularly heavy toll is due to the violent repression of the event by police that carry out law enforcement with weapons of war,’’ the statement said. (AFP) BLANTYRE Child marriages ban after rights campaign Malawian President Peter Muth- arika has signed into law a ban on child marriages, parliament announced Wednesday, two months after lawmakers passed a bill raising the marrying age to 18. Rights activists say Malawi has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage, with some girls as young as nine of 10 married off — even though the marriage age was previously set at 16. The new law carries a 10-year prison sentence for anyone who marries under the age of 18. (AFP)